Mendocino County mom gets 20 years in sex abuse

A Mendocino County woman accused of participating in the sexual abuse of her children has pleaded guilty and faces a stipulated sentence of 20 years to life in state prison, the Mendocino District Attorney’s Office said.

Ina Selena Medina, 49, a former Talmadge resident, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to aggravated sexual assault of a child in 1998 and lewd and lascivious acts with a child by force in 1999, the office said in a press release.

Medina’s case was referred to the Probation Department’s Adult Division for a background study and sentencing report, pending a sentencing hearing June 12. The stipulated sentence to be imposed at that time is 20 years to life, and if Medina is ever deemed suitable for release after 20 years she will be under parole supervision and required to register as a sex offender for life.

Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira handled the prosecution.

Medina and Donald Dunakin, arrested in January 2014, initially were charged with 21 felony counts related to alleged sexual abuse of their children for more than 15 years. Sheriff’s detectives who investigated the case on a referral by Child Protective Services concluded there was evidence that the couple, who had lived in the Ukiah area together for 30 years, had been abusing at least two of their children for many years, Capt. Greg Van Patten said at the time of the arrest. The ages of the children at the time they were abused ranged from 3 to 16, he said.